We Can Never Be
by Delais Starlight
Summary: Naruto saves his friends and his love from enemies, but believes he can no longer save them from himself. He must make a choice that he hates. NaruHina oneshot.


Authors Notes 1) I don't own Naruto or its characters.

2) _Constructive _criticism is perfectly fine, compliments are also nice.

3) Thank you to my friend Alex for his help.

This story is written the day after the events that take place in the flashback in chapter 2 of my story 'Thoughts In a Hospital Room'. For those of you who have not read it, Naruto kills Itachi and Kisama after Kisama seriously harms Hinata. Sakura, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino witness it and want to ask Naruto what happened (he completely lost control to the Kyubi). This takes place when the characters are 16

We Can Never Be

Hinata walked down the street holding four red roses in her left arm. Her right arm hung in front of her in a sling, courtesy of Kisama's attacks. Tsunade had spent several hours working on her after stabilizing Naruto, but had not had the chakra left over to completely repair the bones in her elbow. Hinata was given a sling, and Tsunade ordered her to spend a month off of active duty and avoid using her right arm to ensure that it healed properly. Tsunade had also brushed aside all of the questions that Hinata and her teammates had about Naruto. "It is not my place to give you such answers," she had said. "If you really want to know, then you will have to ask Naruto, but I must order you to respect his decision if he does not want to tell you." They had all wanted to go and see Naruto immediately, but the Hokage had ordered them to go home, stating that both they and Naruto needed a good night's rest.

Clutching her flowers, Hinata continued on her route towards the bridge that Team 7 had always met at. Everyone had wanted to find out what happened to Naruto, and Sakura had suggested they meet there in the morning and head to the hospital together. Rounding the bend, she saw Shino was already there. She came to a stop beside him and gave a small smile in greeting. Shino's head bobbed slightly in his usual fashion. He rarely spoke, and his teammates had learned to accept his silence as his way.

The two of them turned as they heard the footsteps coming up behind them. Sakura smiled as she reached them. "Hey there you two, Kiba isn't here yet?"

"He's usually the last to show up, Sakura-chan, although I imagine that he'll arrive soon."

Sakura motioned to the flowers Hinata was holding. "You think that Naruto will appreciate those then, Hinata?"

The shy girl blushed and held the flowers behind her back. Her face began to turn red as she desperately tried to find a way out of Sakura's question. Looking around, she found the way out she was hoping for. "Kiba-kun, you're here." A loud bark caused her to amend her greeting. "And of course you are too, Akamaru." Kneeling down, Hinata scratched the head of Akamaru, as he nuzzled her face. The dog was now fully grown, and though he had seen years of battle and killed many ninja, he was still as playful around those he viewed as friends as he had been as a puppy.

"We should go." Everyone looked towards Shino, who was already walking in the direction of the hospital. They followed in silence, everyone too engrossed in their own memories of the battle the day before to initiate a conversation.

Entering the sliding doors of the hospital, the four ninja made their way to the front desk, waiting patiently for the administrative nurse to speak to them. The woman behind the desk took a few moments, making notes in some files, and shuffling others into piles before looking them over. Her gaze washed over all of them before returning to Hinata and the flowers in her hand. She smiled brightly, "Hello there, looking for someone important to you?"

Hinata gave a nod, and spoke for the group. "Could you, perhaps… please tell us the room in which Uzamaki Naruto is recovering?"

They could all see the smile from the nurse turn into a look of anger. Everyone remembered when Naruto had been treated like dirt by almost every person in the village. Although he had started to win respect after defeating Neji in his first chunin exam four years ago, there were still a few villagers who treated him with contempt. The nurse turned and began walking away without answering them, continuing even after Sakura shouted at her to stop.

Shino looked over at his female teammate. Both he and Kiba cared deeply for her, and hated to see someone upset the girl's fragile emotions. In a blur he disappeared, reappearing in front of the woman who was attempting to leave.

"Answer my friend's question."

The nurse attempted to glare the Aburame down, but found it unsettling to match stares with his dark sunglasses. It became even more unsettling after bugs began to scurry out from behind the glasses.

"Now."

The nurse broke the stare to look back at the others. "He was released this morning after he awoke."

"What?" Kiba looked ready to tear her head off. "What the hell is wrong with you people here? Did you not notice that he's half dead?"

"He recovered. We released him." The nurse was getting nervous, she was no ninja, and now she had one screaming at her, and another who seemed to be threatening her with bugs. "He isn't here. If you don't mind I have work to do."

"People don't recover from the injuries he had in one night! Tell us where the hell he is!" Kiba started to move towards the woman. He didn't plan on letting her think she could just tell a lie and get them to go away. He was halted by Sakura's hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto has always been quick to heal, Kiba. Perhaps she is telling the truth. Why don't we go see if he is at his apartment?" Sakura departed, leading the others towards Naruto's home.

Naruto was not at his apartment. Nor was he at the Ichiraku ramen bar. The owner told them that Naruto had not come in for breakfast as he usually did. Sakura did not give up, however, suggesting they try Team 7's old training field.

Naruto was sitting against a tree at the edge of the field when they arrived. Sakura shouted a greeting, but his head did not lift. He merely sat, staring at an object he clutched in his hands. The four came up to him, but he still did not speak. Puzzled at what to make of his unusual silence, they sat down beside him.

"Naruto?"

He ignored Sakura, not even giving a sign that he was aware of their presence; merely staring at the item he clutched in his hands. Curiosity overcame Sakura, and she reached out and gently tugged the item he was holding away from him. Sakura looked at it and recognized it instantly. It was a framed picture. She remembered when she had taken it a few months back. Naruto and Hinata had just started going out, and she had snapped a photo of the couple. Naruto was looking towards the camera, his eyes shining as he gave a tremendous grin. He held onto Hinata's hand with one of his own as she stood a step behind him. Her face was turned away from the camera, but you could see that she held a smile as she blushed. Sakura showed the photo to the others with a smile. When Naruto had first seen it, he had instantly claimed it as one of his treasured possessions.

Hinata placed the flowers she held in Naruto's lap and spoke in her gentle voice. "These were for you to look at while you recovered Naruto-kun. Thank you for saving me." She began to lean towards him, her head moving in jerks. It was clear she was trying to summon up her courage. Finally she did lean over, angling her mouth towards his cheek. Naruto finally moved; but rather than press his lips to her own, he pulled his head away.

Hinata pulled away with a gasp, tears forming in her eyes. She began to reach towards Naruto, but froze when he spoke, in a voice cracking with sorrow.

"Hinata. I do not think we should see each other any longer."

No one spoke. Tears fell from Hinata's eyes, and her shoulders shook as she cried. The others stared at Naruto in shock. After close to a minute, Hinata's sobs fell silent.

"Naruto-kun." The voice was now reduced to a shaky whisper. "Is it something I have done?"

Naruto finally looked up, turning his head towards the blue-haired girl. They could all see the agony on his face as he too whispered.

"No."

"Then, is it -" At this Hinata paused, closing her eyes and breathing deeply for several seconds before continuing, her whisper taking on a slightly fearful tone. "Is it something that I have not done then?"

"No!"

The cry shocked Hinata into raising her own voice as well. "Then why? Please Naruto-kun, tell me!"

Naruto looked at his friends, all of them seeing nervousness now written across his face along with his sorrow. "Do any of you remember what happened yesterday?" When everyone nodded an affirmative, he continued. "I do not. I know what happened; Tsunade spoke to me before I left the hospital this morning, and told me what you told her. I know I killed Kisama and Itachi, but I have no memory of fighting them." Naruto stood slowly, and his friends followed suit, Hinata leaning on Sakura for support.

He paused, and Sakura asked the question that they had originally sought him out for. "Naruto, do you at least know what happened to you yesterday?"

The blond boy looked up at the sky. His hands clenched and unclenched into fists. Finally, he spoke. "I lost control to Kyubi."

"What?" Sakura was still speaking for the group, who were now clearly confused.

"Kyubi, the demon fox who attacked our village sixteen years ago. Remember the stories?"

"Yes, but the fourth killed the Kyubi. Naruto, he killed the monster right?"

"No. He wasn't strong enough. The best he could do was seal it inside someone. So he sealed it inside an infant. A baby is born before its chakra system fully develops, so the plan was it's chakra system would incorporate the demon into it. That way, the child would become incredibly strong, and when the he died, the Kyubi would die with him." Naruto looked Sakura in the eyes, sadness playing across his face. "I was turned, in effect, into a living prison."

Everyone stepped back from Naruto, Shino gliding closer to Sakura and Hinata.

"No way," Kiba spoke in a worried voice. "No way. Our parents would have told us long ago."

"The penalty for doing something like that is death. The Fourth wanted me to have a normal life, so no one my age was to know. I mean look at all of you, you're terrified."

Naruto paused to gather his thoughts for a moment. "That's why everyone told the kids to stay away from me when we were younger. They all thought that I would lose control, or turn into Kyubi or something, and then I would kill everyone. I didn't learn this until I was twelve, right when I became a ninja. Since then, I've had to be careful about getting too angry. Sakura's probably thinking about a few times where I started to tap the Kyubi's power in the past. But yesterday I totally lost it. When I saw Kisama doing that to Hinata-chan, I couldn't hold back the hatred. The Kyubi took control of my body and tore them both apart. The seal I have on me kept him from permanently taking control, but he could easily have killed all of you in that time span." He looked over at Hinata, and she could see the tears flowing down his eyes. "I never believed I would ever lose control, but I did. You can't be near me anymore. It's too dangerous."

"Naruto-kun, please- I love you."

"Just go, all of you. Now!"

Akamaru and Kiba was the first to walk away, Kiba occasionally throwing worried glances over his shoulder. The others stood still until Shino took Hinata and guided her away, Sakura following the two of them. Naruto watched them leave before sitting back down and crying.

Sakura pulled Hinata away from Shino and sat her on a bench. She sat down beside the girl and wrapped her arms around her. "You go ahead, I'll talk to her. I'll help her with this." Shino stood silently, not moving. Hinata looked at him with red eyes and nodded. Turning, he strode away.

Sakura slowly let go of Hinata, watching her to ensure she was alright. After a few moments, she slid away, letting Hinata sit on her own. She gathered her thoughts for a moment, trying to find the right thing to say.

"Hinata, I just want you to know that I understand what you feel right now. I know what it feels like to love someone, and to have them push you away. It's what I went through with Sasuke." Hinata looked over at her friend, but said nothing. After a moment, Sakura decided that she was supposed to continue speaking. "It hurts. You feel worthless, wondering why your love would reject you, what inadequacies make you so fundamentally unloveable. But that isn't why Naruto is doing this. He told us, he's the Kyubi demon, and you we won't be safe around him."

"But he said he was the Kyubi's prison, Sakura-chan. He isn't a demon. He… He is kind, and caring, and - He's a gentle person, Sakura-chan."

Sakura sadly shook her head. "It doesn't matter, Hinata. He's kind, but you saw what happened yesterday when that demon took control of him. It isn't, and it could rip either of us apart in the blink of an eye."

Hinata's head dropped down, and her voice became even quieter than was her norm. "But it didn't. That is, I mean, yesterday, it never hurt us. After, after it killed Itachi, it just stood there. Like it was trying to calm down… maybe."

Sakura sat silently, processing what Hinata had said. It didn't make any sense. Her mind ran over all of it. Just treat it like a problem, she decided. If this were a test, the question was: why had they not died yesterday? Sakura sat thinking for a minute, then two, and then three. She had determined the question, so all that remained was to find the answer.

Sakura jumped up, pulling Hinata to her feet. "Come on, Hinata, we're going to talk to that idiot boyfriend of yours." Hinata looked at her in surprise, but got only a smile in response. Confused, she allowed herself to be led back to the training area they had just left.

"Hey, Naruto! Get up now, we aren't done talking to you."

Naruto stood up to face Sakura, who was pulling Hinata back across the field towards him.

"What are you doing, hurting Hinata like this? I thought you cared about her."

"I do; I care about all of you. But now that the Kyubi knows that he can take control, he'll want it again. He'll want to kill. And if one of my friends is nearby, he'll kill them. I can't let him kill one of you."

"Well, we didn't die yesterday."

"But…"

"Look Naruto, I've figured it out. I want you to think about this. If someone killed Hinata, or me, or Iruka-sensei, or any of your precious people, what would you do?"

"I… I would… I would kill whoever did it. I would hunt them down and kill them.

"Even at the cost of your own life?"

"Yes."

"What if it was the Kyubi? You said that when you die, he dies. Would you kill yourself?"

Naruto paused for a moment, his emotions playing across his face. "Yes."

"Well, you don't think he knows this? And he's an immortal demon. Do you think he's going to kill someone you love if he knows he's basically committing suicide by doing it?"

This time Naruto paused for a few seconds before speaking shakily. "No."

"Well I agree, and as long as Hinata here is okay with it, there shouldn't be a problem." Sakura smirked, "I'm no Shikamaru, but I'm still smarter than you. You're lucky I can think things through, Naruto." She stepped forwards and gave him a quick hug before looking into his eyes. "You've been a true friend, Naruto. I can never remember a time when you've used your power to do anything but defend those you care about. I may be scared for a while, but I still trust you." Sakura gave him another smile and left the field, leaving Naruto and Hinata behind.

They looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Hinata, surprisingly, was the first to speak. "Naruto-kun, I don't care about what is inside of you. You always encourage me to be strong, Naruto-kun, but to be strong you have to take risks sometimes. When I am with you, I feel happy and strong, and I trust you. To me, you are worth any risk."

Naruto spoke, and for once, he was the one stuttering and unsure. "You don't - That is, you are not afraid of me?"

Hinata gave a tiny smile as she looked at him through her pale white eyes. "I have always admired you for your strength. For you to have carried this burden alone all these years, you seem even stronger."

He stepped forwards and wrapped her in a tight embrace. While normally embarrassed about such displays of emotion, she immediately returned the hug. She rested her head against his chest, eyes closed. She could feel Naruto's body shudder as he cried. When he spoke, his voice was merely a whisper.

"Arigato, Hinata-chan."

Please review this story. As it is my second one, I could use the feedback. And it is nice to know someone read it, even if they didn't like it. Thank you: Delais Starlight


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